System power management using memory throttle signal

ABSTRACT

According to some embodiments, power information associated with a computing system may be monitored. Based on the monitored power information, it may be determined whether a hardware memory throttling signal will be asserted and/or that a processor power control signal will be asserted.

BACKGROUND

Components in a computing system, such as a Central Processing Unit(“CPU”) and one or more memory subsystem components, may consume powerand generate heat as they operate. Moreover, a computing system willtypically have limitations associated with how much power and/or heatshould be generated during operation. For example, a computing systemmight have an overall power and/or thermal budget as well as componentlevel power limitations. Note that exceeding these parameters mightresult in degraded performance and/or damage to components in thesystem. Further note that one or more power supplies may be used toprovide power for the computing system.

In some cases, the computing system may be able to be configured in anumber of different ways. For example, in one configuration a computingsystem might have two processors and four memory subsystems, while inanother configuration the same system might have four processors andeight memory subsystems. The number of power supplies, and/or an amountof power available from each power supply, might be selected in view ofthese potential configurations of the computing system. Note, however,that selecting power supplies based on a maximum or “worst case” systemconfiguration may lead to higher costs and/or lead to reduced powerefficiencies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method associated with system powermanagement in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 is an example of a system according to some embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A computing system may include a number of components, such as one ormore processors (e.g., CPUs) and memory subsystems. Moreover, thecomputing system may support different configurations associated withdifferent numbers and/or types of components. For example, in oneconfiguration a computing system might have two processors and fourmemory subsystems, while in another configuration the same system mighthave four processors and eight memory subsystems. The number of powersupplies, and/or an amount of power available from each power supply,might be selected in view of these potential configurations of thecomputing system. Note, however, that selecting power supplies based ona maximum or “worst case” system configuration might lead to highercosts and/or lead to reduced power efficiencies.

To avoid such disadvantages, FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system 100according to some embodiments. The system 100 includes a power manager110 adapted to provide one or more memory throttling signals associatedwith a memory element. Note that the memory throttling signal might notbe directly attached to the memory element but might, instead, controloperation of the memory element via a processor 120. For example, ahardware memory throttling pin assertion might cause a memory controllerto force no-operation (“NOP”) frames and reduce power consumption by amemory subsystem. Further note that although a single processor 120 isillustrated in FIG. 1, the system 100 may be associated with any numberof processors.

According to some embodiments, the power manager 110 is adapted tomonitor power information associated with a computing system. The powermanager 110 may be, according to some embodiments, associated with areconfigurable digital circuit such as a Programmable Logic Device(“PLD”) element. The power information and/or conditions received by thepower manager 110 might include, for example, power supply information,component power consumption information, and/or an indication of whethera system power utilization level exceeds a pre-determined limit. Basedon the monitored power information, the power manager 110 may further beadapted to determine whether (or not) a signal will be asserted on amemory throttling pin.

According to some embodiments, the power manager 110 is also coupled toa processor power control signal input of the processor 120 (e.g., a pinassociated with processor and/or CPU power throttling). In this case,the power manager might 110 be further adapted to, based on themonitored power information, determine whether a signal will be assertedon a processor power control pin.

Thus, the power manager 110 may use the monitored information tofacilitate an efficient management of power within the system 100. Forexample, FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method that might be associatedwith the power manager 110 in accordance with some embodiments. The flowcharts described herein do not necessarily imply a fixed order to theactions, and embodiments may be performed in any order that ispracticable. Note that any of the methods described herein may beperformed by hardware, software (including lower level code, such asmicrocode), or a combination of hardware and software. For example, astorage medium may store thereon instructions that when executed by amachine result in performance according to any of the embodimentsdescribed herein.

At 202, power information associated with a computing system may bemonitored. It may then be determined whether or not one or more powersupply conditions exist at 204. The power supply conditions might beassociated with, for example: (i) power supply information, (ii) anindication of whether one or more power supplies are installed, (ii) anindication of whether at least one power supply has failed, (iv) anindication of whether at least one power supply is exceeding adesign/maximum continuous power limit, (v) an indication of whether oneor more power supply input voltage/AC range has failed and/or (vi) aSystem Management Bus (“SMBus”) signal. If the power supply conditionsdo not exist at 204, the method continues monitoring the system powerinformation at 202.

It may then be determined whether or not one or more component levelconditions exist at 206. The determination might be performed, forexample, dynamically (e.g., as conditions change) and/or automatically(e.g., without intervention by a user). The component level conditionsmight be associated with, for example: (i) component power consumptioninformation, (ii) an indication that a processor voltage regulatorcurrent trip point has been triggered, and/or (iii) an indication that amemory voltage regulator current trip point has been triggered. If thecomponent level conditions do not exist at 206, the method continuesmonitoring the system power information at 202.

It may then be determined whether or not one or more system level powerconditions exist at 208. The system level power conditions mightinclude, for example, an indication of whether an overall system powerutilization level exceeds a pre-determined limit. If the system levelpower conditions do not exist at 208, the method continues monitoringthe system power information at 202. Note that there might be multiplesystem power utilization levels (e.g., associated with different actionsto be taken) according to some embodiments.

At 210, a hardware memory throttling signal connected to a memorycontroller (external or integrated on a processor socket) pin and/or apower control signal connected to a processor may be asserted. Accordingto some embodiments, the computing system may be associated with aplurality of memory components, in which case more than one hardwarememory throttling signals might be asserted at 21 0. Similarly, thecomputing system might be associated with a plurality of processors, inwhich case more than one processor power control signals might beasserted at 210.

After the memory throttle and/or processor power control signals areasserted at 210, the method continues to monitor system powerinformation at 202. Moreover, based on the continued monitoring of thepower information, it may later be determined that the hardware memorythrottling signal(s) and/or processor power control signal(s) will nolonger be asserted. Note that as the amount of power consumed by asystem (or a component within the system) increases, the amount of heatgenerated by the system (or the component within the system) willtypically also increase. That is, power and thermal considerations maygo hand-in-hand in connection with computing systems and/or subsystems.As a result, embodiments described herein as being associated with a“power management” or “power throttling” also encompass the notion of“thermal/heat management” or “thermal/heat throttling.”

FIG. 3 is an example of a system 300 according to some embodiments. Inparticular, the system 300 includes a power distribution subsystem 310(e.g., associated with a power distribution board) that supplies powerto a processor and miscellaneous subsystem element 320 (e.g., associatedwith a baseboard). The system also includes a number of memorysubsystems 330 (e.g., associated with memory risers), system powermanagement logic 340 (e.g., associated with baseboard glue logic as wellas additional logic 342), a processor 350, an Input Output (“IO”)subsystem 360 (e.g., associated with an IO riser), and a number of powersupplies 380 (e.g., a first power supply through an Nth power supply).Note that the system 300 might be adapted to support any number ofdifferent configurations, including configurations with differentnumbers of processors 350, memory subsystems 330 (and associated memoryelements), and/or power supplies 380.

The power supplies 380 and/or power distribution subsystem 310 might beselected and/or designed using a “full sized” approach (to fully supporteven the maximum system 300 configuration) or a “limited supply”approach (which would only supported limited system 300 configurations).Moreover, sizing the power supplies 380 for the worst case powerconsumption possibility might require higher wattage power supply (andthus higher system power costs). Similarly, such an approach may lead tohigher cooling costs for the system. On the other hand, if the powersupplies 380 do not support the maximum (e.g., worst case) configurationcontinuously, then the system configuration and/or usage might exceedthe power capacity (and the entire system 300 may shutdown, via overcurrent protection or over temperature protection mechanisms within thepower supplies 380 or some other mechanisms or reasons). Such a resultmay be unacceptable for many applications (e.g., volume and high-endserver products).

By way of example only, the system 300 might support up to 64× quad-rankDouble Data Rate (“DDR”) Dual Inline Memory Modules (“DIMMs”), causing asignificant portion of the system 300 power to be consumed by memorysubsystems (e.g., 60% of system power might be consumed by memorysubsystems). Similarly, if four processors are included in the system,20% or more of system power could be consumed by processors.

According to some embodiments described herein, system power managementlogic may actively manage various power levels and risks by monitoringpower supply status, system power utilization, and/or Voltage Regulator(“VR”) currents associated with processor and/or memory elements.Moreover, the system power management logic may appropriately drivememory and/or processor powers reductions to avoid a system shutdownscenario. For example, system power management logic might use one ormore memory throttle pins on an integrated Memory Controller (“iMC”)within the processor 350 silicon (along with system power managementlogic 340) to improve the operation of the power supplies 380 withrespect to mainstream configurations. Some embodiments may also reducepower requirements (e.g., helping to reduce system power/cooling cost aswell as improving power supply efficiency).

Some embodiments include a memory controller that has a power controlcapability via an external hardware interface (“MEM THROT” in FIG. 3).For example, the hardware interface may reduce memory subsystem power byinitiating memory throttling by asserting the MEM THROT signal.Moreover, some embodiments may include one or more processors that havea power control capability via an external hardware interface. By way ofexample, a processor with an integrated memory controller might haveboth memory throttle pins and a processor power control pin. Theassertion of processor power control pin may cause the processor's coreand/or cache power consumption to be reduced. The assertion of thememory throttle pin might, for example, cause the memory controller toforce NOP frames to an interface that is connected to DIMM(s) and/ormemory subsystem(s). Asserting these NOP frames reduce power consumptionof memory subsystems. Note that such a memory throttle pin might beindependent of thermal throttling, may have only a minimal delay betweena time the memory throttle pin (power reduction request/alert) isasserted to the time memory subsystem power is reduced.

The system power management logic 340, such as a PLD, might, accordingto some embodiments, assert memory throttle signals (e.g., pins) onlywhen all of the following three conditions are detected:

1) Either, all power supplies 380 are not installed in the system 300,or at least one power supply 380 has failed (even though all the powersupplies 380 are installed), or any power supply 380 signals that itsoutput has exceeded a continuous power design limit.

2) One or more processor/memory VR current/power trip points aretriggered. According to some embodiments, this condition might besatisfied if any trip point is triggered (and in other embodiments,multiple trip points may need to be triggered).

3) System power utilization is currently too high (e.g., it exceeds apre-set limit). Note that embodiments may be associated with any one (orcombination) of the above conditions and/or other conditions. Furthernote that the system power management logic 340 might also assert one ormore processor power control signals (e.g., to reduce processor powerconsumption under the three conditions mentioned above or when processorpower consumptions exceed power delivery subsystem design limits).

According to some embodiments, the system 300 will not assert any memorythrottling pins or processor power control pins if power consumption forthe complete system 300 is within appropriate power delivery limits.This may help ensure that memory throttling and processor power controlpins are asserted only when necessary (and thus the system 300performance might not be sacrificed unless the system power demandexceeds available power capacity). Further note that embodiments mightinclude the ability to separately assert, for example, three inputsignals (at two memory throttle pins and one processor power controlpin) on a processor socket (thereby individually controlling each memorycontroller and the processor core subsystem power). For example, if onememory subsystem 330 is installed with high-power DIMMs and a currentthreshold trigger is tripped, power reduction might only be done withrespect to that memory subsystem 330 (e.g., the other memory subsystem330 and processor core power would not be impacted).

The power supply condition (“PS COND” in FIG. 3) transmitted from thepower supplies 380 to the system power management logic 340 mightinstead be associated with, in some embodiments, a power supply SMBusALERT signal. Note in some embodiments, additional logic 342 and/orBasic Input Output System (“BIOS”) and/or firmware might be used tomanage power for the system 300.

According to some embodiments logic in the processor and miscellaneoussubsystem element 320 (e.g., associated with a motherboard) may assertone or more processor memory throttle pins when: (1) memory/processor VRcurrent exceeds a trip point, (2) power supply utilization exceeds apre-set threshold, and/or (3) there are a reduced number power supplies380 in the system 300. That is, hardware logic may assert memorythrottle pins when the system power demand is higher than what the powersupplies 380 can deliver. There may also be a mechanism for reducingprocessor 350 power by asserting a processor power consumption controlpin. Note that the assertion of the memory throttle pin may cause amemory controller to force NOP frames thus reducing memory subsystempower. This may reduce the system 300 performance in order to achievepower reduction only when less than a sufficient number of functionalpower supplies 380 are installed in the system 300 and the system 300power requirements are higher than supported by the functional powersupplies 380. This might not, however, sacrifice system 300 performancefor a fully configured processor/memory/TO system when all powersupplies 380 are installed and functional.

Thus, according to some embodiments, system 300 performance might not besacrificed under a full system configuration when all power supplies 380are installed (and functional), but may be sacrificed upon power supply380 failure or when the system 300 power demand gets close to (orexceeds) the power supported by the power supplies 380. As a result, areduction of system 300 power and/or cooling costs without sacrificingperformance under full power supply 380 configuration may be achieved.Moreover, some embodiments let the system 300 support fewer redundantpower supplies 380 (and, in so doing, perhaps save power). Note thatlower wattage power supplies 380 may run more efficiently when thesystem 300 is in an idle state. Such an approach may also reduce thecost of the system 300 by allowing for a lower wattage power supplies380.

By way of example only, consider a system with a 4-socket 64× quad-rankDIMM configuration. Such a system might need, for example, approximatelya 2200 watt power supply while a 32× dual-rank DIMM configuration mightneed a 1400 watt power supply. Moreover, note that a QR ×4 DIMM mightnot have significant pricing benefits up to 256 GB (e.g., 64 DIMMs usinga 4 GB DIMM stick). On the other hand, QR ×4 might provide lower DIMMpricing for 512 GB—and significantly lower DIMM pricing for 1024 GB.Further note that only a relatively small portion of customers (e.g.,5%) might install more than 256 GB of memory in 4-socket system.

This type of server system may typically be configured with redundantpower supplies. According to some embodiments described herein, thesystem might improve power supply management for mainstreamconfigurations, and yet still support a maximum system configuration(without sacrificing performance when all power supplies are installedand fully functional). For example, if the power supply for this systemis sized for 32× dual-rank DIMMs (e.g., a mainstream configuration),then the total power requirement per power supply is 1400 W. As aresult, a single low wattage/low cost power supply could support themainstream configuration (as well as improve power supply efficiency asthe system will be mostly running above 50% load). If the power supplyis designed to supported 64× quad-rank DIMMs (e.g., needing 2200 watts),then a typical load will likely be less than 50% (reducing power supplyefficiency).

When a 1400 W power supply (designed for a mainstream configuration) isused in a redundant configuration (e.g., two such power supplies areprovided in the system), then the total available power may be able tosupport a full system configuration, including quad-rank 64 DIMMs,without sacrificing performance. If any one of the power supplies failsin such a fully loaded configuration, the system power management logicaccording to some embodiments described herein may start throttling oneor more memory (and/or processor) subsystems. The throttling may reducesystem power requirements, and thus prevent the system from reaching ashutdown situation.

To prevent the power supply (and the system) from shutting down when asystem is fully populated—but one of the two power supplies hasfailed—power supply current limit hardware may be configured to supporta peak power level equal to (or exceeding) an amount of power consumedin that configuration. This peak power level support might be provided,for example, during a limited period of time associated with how long ittakes to throttle memory (and/or processor) subsystems and reduce systempower requirements. As a result, a power supply thermal design current(power) rating may remain unchanged. If the peak current limits areexceeded (e.g., due to a failure on system side), the power supply mayprotect itself as would occur in a typical system.

This sacrifice of performance for a short period of time during afailure (e.g., a power supply or AC line failure) may be acceptable inmany situations, as the approach delivers improved cost/power benefitsunder normal configurations. Moreover, some embodiments provide suchbenefits using simple board hardware logic and memory throttle signalson a processor reduce power requirements relatively quickly. Note that asystem implementation might also use BIOS instructions, firmware, and/orother software mechanisms to trigger the memory throttling event andreduce system power. Further note that a software mechanism might beassociated with a longer response time (and may be slightly morecomplicated as compared to a simple hardware mechanism).

The above example illustrates how a power supply might be optimized forsome mainstream configurations, such as a 32× dual-rank DIMMs, and stillsupport full system configurations, like 64× quad-rank DIMMs, under aredundant power supply configuration by using system power managementmechanisms according to some of the embodiments described herein. Inaddition to power supply cost savings, there might be other benefitsaccording to some embodiment (e.g., system/power cooling cost savings orlower utility bills due to better system efficiencies).

Thus, embodiments described herein may provide systems and methods toefficiently provide power management using one or more memory throttlesignals or pins (and/or, similarly, processor throttle signals).Moreover, according to some embodiments, hardware reliable protectionmay be provided to limit power consumptions within an available powercapacity. Such an approach may reduce system power requirements (byimproving the power supply for mainstream system configurations whilestill supporting more demanding system configurations) using systemprotection mechanisms/power management features to lower power and/orthermal cost (without sacrificing performance under full power supplyconfigurations). In addition, power supply efficiency may be improved(without adding cost) when typical system power consumption stays above50%. Moreover, some embodiments may provide improved power dropout ridethrough techniques by load shedding during a momentary power outage orunder-voltage condition. The memory and/or CPU throttling mechanismsdescribed herein may be asserted when the power supply detects adisruption to AC power (and thereby reducing the power consumed andextending the discharge rate of capacitance within the power supply).

The following illustrates various additional embodiments. These do notconstitute a definition of all possible embodiments, and those skilledin the art will understand that many other embodiments are possible.Further, although the following embodiments are briefly described forclarity, those skilled in the art will understand how to make anychanges, if necessary, to the above description to accommodate these andother embodiments and applications.

For example, although some embodiments have been described with respectto particular types of components and system configurations, any othertypes of components and/or system configurations may be used instead.For example, embodiments might be associated with blade server system,High Performance Computing (“HPC”) devices, and/or two-socket serversystems. Moreover, other implementations and variations may be providedfor the power management logic and algorithms described herein.Moreover, note that any of the embodiments described herein mightfurther be associated with thermal inputs (e.g., in addition to orinstead of power inputs) and/or thermal management of the system.Further, note that embodiments may be associated with hardware pin-basedand similar memory throttle features supported on any memory subsystemcomponent.

The several embodiments described herein are solely for the purpose ofillustration. Persons skilled in the art will recognize from thisdescription other embodiments may be practiced with modifications andalterations limited only by the claims.

1. A method, comprising: monitoring power information associated with acomputing system; and based on the monitored power information,determining whether a hardware memory throttling signal will beasserted.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the power informationincludes at least one of: (i) power supply information, (ii) anindication of whether one or more power supplies are installed, (ii) anindication of whether at least one power supply has failed, (iv) anindication of whether at least one power supply is exceeding adesign/maximum continuous power limit, (v) an indication of whether oneor more power supply input voltage/AC range has failed, or (vi) a systemmanagement bus signal.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the powerinformation includes at least one of: (i) component power consumptioninformation, (ii) an indication that a processor voltage regulatorcurrent trip point has been triggered, or (iii) an indication that amemory voltage regulator current trip point has been triggered.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the power information includes an indicationof at least one of: (i) whether a system power utilization level exceedsa pre-determined limit, or (ii) whether multiple system powerutilization levels exceed a pre-determined limit.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein the computing system includes a plurality of memorycomponents, and said determining comprising: based on the monitoredpower information, determining whether a hardware memory throttlingsignal will be asserted for each of the plurality of memory components.6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: based on the monitoredpower information, determining whether a hardware processor powercontrol signal will be asserted.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein thecomputing system includes a plurality of processors, and saiddetermining comprising: based on the monitored power information,determining whether a hardware processor power control signal will beasserted for each of the plurality of processors.
 8. The method of claim1, wherein said determining is performed by a programmable logic deviceor discrete logic components on a board.
 9. The method of claim 1,wherein the hardware memory throttling signal causes a memory controllerto force no-operation frames and reduce power consumption by a memorysubsystem.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: asserting thehardware memory throttling signal.
 11. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: continuing to monitor power information associated with acomputing system; and based on the continued monitoring of the powerinformation, determining that the hardware memory throttling signal willno longer be asserted.
 12. A system, comprising: a memory throttling pininput associated with a memory element; and a power manager coupled tothe memory throttling pin and adapted to: (i) monitor power informationassociated with a computing system, and (ii) based on the monitoredpower information, determine whether a signal will be asserted on thememory throttling pin.
 13. The system of claim 12, wherein the powerinformation includes (i) power supply information, (ii) component powerconsumption information, and (iii) an indication of whether a systempower utilization level exceeds a pre-determined limit.
 14. The systemof claim 12, further comprising: a processor element with a processorpower control pin input, wherein the power manager is coupled to theprocessor power control pin and is further adapted to, based on themonitored power information, determine whether a signal will be assertedon the processor power control pin.
 15. The system of claim 12, whereinthe power manager is associated with a programmable logic device ordiscrete logic components on a board.